War of the Masque
One of the largest scale conflicts between pirates and marines in recorded history. A battle so great it completely demolished half of a metropolis into dust, and caused a ripple effect that only seemed to grow larger. Synopsis The War of the Masque (Masuku no sensō, マスクの戦争) was the result of a very strange series of events. There is a great many rumors as to how the war began, but to be clear, it was all one man's doing. One man's greed began this war, one night when almost nothing else seemed to be going on, one man spotted Captain Rinji inside a club in the streets of Sukiyaki City. In his ignorance, he called the local authorities, and they came to apprehend Catman Rinji. They failed, but the news of his presence on Hotdog Island was quite wide spread, and this reached the ears of one Kola, who was more than willing to use this information to finally seek his revenge on the Nekojin pirate. Before this, though, for some reason, Kola needed a naval ship. Without a care in the world, Kola laid waste to G-33, but was met with resistance from one Kitomo Rise. It was a hard-fought battle, but Kola defeated Vice Admiral Rise, and did not show her any mercy. Word had already gotten out about Catman Rinji's presence, and this caused a great many problems for other pirates on the island. Caught in the middle of the fray were Dhahaka D. Knave and The Marimo Pirates, as well as Thoosa and The Pop Band Pirates who were there to play a concert at the Ford Center. This also caught the attention of Jolly D. Chris, who saw that Rinji was in trouble, and rushed to Hotdog Island to help. However, what they didn't know was that the Marines were already on their way, sending an entire Fleet of fifteen Marine vessels, with more promised on their way. These Marines were led by none other than Samuel Polatsu, Vice Admiral. The Jolly Pirates made it to the island, but barely escaped capture from the Marines, but they did, through their own tenacity and a little help from Knave. That was when the entirety of all four crews came together in order to discuss the presence of the Marines on that island. Though, they did not have long to talk, as they were spotted, and the Marines instantly went on the offensive. They were met in kind as the Pirates charged into battle with ferocity, and met the Marines in a clash of combat! Though they tore through the Marine's first rank, they still had a very long way to go. The battle carried on for many hours, and despite being so laughably out numbered, the pirates were proving to be a wall that none could pass through. All four crews brought down the foot soldiers by the truckloads, and the battle became nasty when Rinji and Sieghart locked horns! Thoosa fought against a marine officer giant by the name of Ola, and brought her down with almost minimal effort. Dracule Sakura was the star of the day, as she brought down the greatest number of marines with her sword, and was joined by Daro Daro Usagi, Pura Rihawk, and Laura (One Piece of Music) as they came to her aid. They were all met in combat with an ambush by none other than the Seven Swords of Onsen, and after a horrific battle, they proved victorious. Usagi, however, sustained the most damage, as she was attacked by two of the more skilled sword fighters. Sakura, however, took on Midori, the single greatest sword fighter among them. After they were taken down, the battle was called to a temporary ceasefire, as the marines regrouped. During the down time, the Pirates decided that they needed to tip the scales a little more in their favor. Rinji met with Knave, and the two of them plotted a black ops team to go and sabotage the marine battleships. Magnus, Eustass D. Sid, Runagai Chio, Chiyome Lys, and Dhahaka D. Knave all went under cover as Marines, taking advantage of their disorientation of defeat in the first battle. Everything went rather smoothly, however, it all went south when Knave was discovered by Vice Admiral Polatsu himself. At that point, all of the ships were put on alert, and it wasn't long before all of their positions were entirely compromised. Knave was able to defeat Polatsu in battle, and the rest of them were able to meet their goals in bringing great damage to many key ships, rendering them useless. The next day, the marines came back into the city full force only to find that all four captains were standing in the middle of the street. They were fired upon by gigantic ranks of Marines, only to repel their fire and decimate their ranks. It was then that Former Admiral Goro showed himself, and faced down four of the strongest members of the crews, Spike, Rangass D. Kimi, Ruriko Fujitani, and Sirius. To their surprise, he matched all of their strength, and even did a good bit of damage. The battle was back on, full force! The entire half of the city was utterly wiped out, and all of the pirates were beginning to grow fatigued as the hours carried on. Hanuman battled against Tombstone Grim's entire army of zombies, and the pirates began to drop down from their injuries, some more severe than others. The Marines started using their power in numbers to bring unbearable pressure on the pirates. Daro Daro Usagi battled against the Vice Admiral, Shinan Froúrio in a duel of the swords. Even Jiro was starting to be brought down by such horrible, constant fire on all sides of the battlefield. However, it was him who first noticed that the incoming ships. The ships carried Kola, and his entire arsenal that he had been carrying just for this one occasion. A new, much worse battle began as Kola's army of mercenaries stormed the city, attacking everyone at once. Not only the mercenaries, but they had procured the one known as Robert Kathium, the creator of the KAR Androids. With his entire army of mechanized warriors, there were many deaths, and many enemies to bring down. The situation was dire now. Daro Daro Usagi successfully defeated Vice Admiral Shinan, but there was still no end in sight. The pirates were outnumbered, and growing ever more weary as the hours kept ticking by with no hope in sight. However, hope did come in the form of Nova Blade, who saved Jiro's life in his battle against Laz Bruno, who was under Kola's payroll as his main lieutenant. Then Nova battled the ever powerful Goro, and was almost prepared to cripple him to take him out of the battle, but was stopped by Goro's adoptive son, Runagai Chio. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, there came help in the form of the Revolutionaries. They stormed the frontlines, and with the element of surprise, were able to repel both the Marines and Kola's forces in a matter of a few hours. Though the Nightmare Coalition Pirates had won the day, the battle was not yet finished. Kola and Rinji's battle commenced, and their fight brought down whatever was left of that side of town as they turned into their respective giant forms of both Dragon and Cheshire Beast. Though it seemed Rinji captured the upper hand, Kola was able to blast him into the sea, causing him to go unconscious, and almost drown. However, Samuel Polatsu pulled the Catman from the water, and while he recovered, fought against the dragon tyrant. Even though he put up a very noble effort in fighting Kola, he was inevitably brought down. Rinji, though nowhere near fully recovered, was up, and still willing to fight the madman dragon. It all seemed hopeless, but in one last attack born of desperation, Rinji beheaded Kola. As the dragon's head hit the ground, the Coalition rejoiced as the War of the Masque was over. They were victorious. Nightmare Coalition A gathering of pirate crews, all from The Wild Generation. Out of necessity, they were brought together in order to escape Hotdog Island with their lives. Jiro came up with the name after Jolly D. Chris proclaimed that they needed a name for all four of their crews as one single body of fighters. Though many would question why this was such a pressing matter, opting more toward coming up with a plan for the ten thousand marines marching on their doorstep. Tiger-Stripe Pirates - Many would argue that this was originally their main problem, as the marines intended to apprehend Captain Rinji. Still, they were more than willing to accept full responsibility for this war, and go head-on into the fray. Pop Band Pirates - Were on the island in order to give a concert at the Ford Center. Their captain, Thoosa grew a great affection for the Tiger-Stripes' Gunner, Gonzo Lee, and this was the main reason they stayed on the island, and ended up giving a large hand in helping against the impending war. The Marimo Pirates - These were the pirates that were the first to strike against the marines in more ways than one. Not only did Dhahaka D. Knave go straight on the offensive in order to aid in the Jolly Pirate's escape, but their strongman, Sirius was at the very front of the charge when they met the marine's first wave of troops. The Jolly Pirates - The only pirate crew that was not actually on the island when all of the heat began to rise. They changed course in the middle of the ocean in order to help the Tiger-Stripe Pirates in their time of need. In the ways of defense, Chiyome Lys held off an entire squadron of marines when they were discovered on the island in the first main conflict. Nova Blade - Though not technically an official member of the Nightmare Coalition, he became a great asset in their defense against the marines when he arrived, and saved Jiro's life as well as held off one of the main titans of the marine's force, Former Admiral Goro. Trivia *This is the largest battle ever fully narrated on Ship of Fools. *The War of the Masque was made thanks to the combined efforts of Rinji79, Zeon1, Wyvern 0m3g4, Powerhouse411, and 1N3RNO as well as characters from Marknuttseviltwin4611 and Caring16. *The name Nightmare Coalition was the brainchild of Wyvern 0m3g4. *The Seven Swords of Onsen and the The White Blade Pirates were supposed to have a much larger part in the story as a whole. However, due to time constraints, changing of the story and the pacing of the story, their parts were severely cut. *When the war actually kicked off, Lvdoomien's "Amerigo Button" was symbolically pressed to signify that the battle had begun. Category:Events Category:Rinji79 Story Category:Battles